Weymouth man, a former Bulger enforcer, accused of ripping off church

Christian Schiavone

Thursday

May 23, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 23, 2013 at 11:08 PM

A Weymouth man who claims to be a one-time enforcer for reputed mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger is facing charges that he schemed his way into a lucrative job at a Boston church and looted its coffers to pay for cars, give cash to friends and family members and cover his legal bills.

A Weymouth man who claims to be a one-time enforcer for reputed mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger is facing charges that he schemed his way into a lucrative job at a Boston church and looted its coffers to pay for cars, give cash to friends and family members and cover his legal bills.

Edward J. MacKenzie Jr., 54, was arrested at his Weymouth home Wednesday after being indicted on federal racketeering charges. He is accused of working with others to obtain a $200,000-a-year job at the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem and using the church’s money to give cash awards to his family members, cover a $50,000 loan for his legal expenses and buy cars for himself, a relative and another church member, according to the 44-page indictment.

MacKenzie and his co-conspirators also took bribes and kickbacks from vendors to do work at the Beacon Hill church, according to the indictment. One of those vendors allegedly installed a high-end aquarium at MacKenzie’s home and was paid with the church’s money.

“Once in power, MacKenzie began to systematically loot the church of its considerable financial assets through a combination of fraud, deceit, extortion, theft and bribery,” the indictment reads.

The Swedenborgian church, also called the Church on the Hill, is on Bowdoin Street across from the State House.

At his initial court appearance Wednesday, MacKenzie was ordered held without bail until Tuesday, when he’ll be arraigned on charges including racketeering, extortion, bribery and running mail fraud and money laundering conspiracies.

Nick Carter, an attorney representing the church, said MacKenzie was placed on administrative leave three weeks ago and that he was fired following his arrest. Carter said the church is still working with authorities.

MacKenzie detailed his criminal past in his 2003 autobiography “Street Soldier: My Life as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob.” In the book, he “admitted to a lengthy criminal history, including burglary, robbery, armed assault and narcotics trafficking,” according to the indictment.

Phyllis Karas, a Boston University journalism professor who co-wrote the book with MacKenzie and Ross Muscato, said she hasn’t heard from MacKenzie in a decade, but that she was shocked by the charges.

“I knew he was working for the church and I thought that was a good thing,” she said. “I was as surprised as anybody.”

At a 2003 book signing in Braintree, MacKenzie talked about his criminal past.

“I fight the fight every day,” he said at the time. “The only thing that stops me (from crime) is the eyes of my children.”

MacKenzie joined the church in 2002, then worked with co-conspirators to pack its membership with friends and family members who made up enough of a voting bloc to create a position of director of operations and give it to MacKenzie, according to the indictment. He was initially paid $100,000 a year for the job. By 2012, his salary and compensation was about $200,000.

He also intimidated people doing work for the church by giving them signed copies of his book, according to the indictment.

MacKenzie faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the charges. If he’s convicted, he could be forced to forfeit approximately $1 million in proceeds from the alleged scheme, according to the indictment.

Christian Schiavone may be reached at cschiavone@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @CSchiavo_Ledger.

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